Rossana Briceño: my goal is to ensure that our classrooms are safe

Rossana Briceño, spouse of the Prime Minister of Belize, and a participant in the Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, shared her thoughts on school safety in the interview.

The Summit, held on 12 September 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine, focused on the topic ‘Protecting Childhood: Ensuring a Safe Future’. Mrs Briceño was actively involved in the ‘Child Safety in the Family’ dimension.

The classroom is supposed to be the safest place for children to learn and thrive, according to the First Lady of Belize. As a former school principal who has also worked extensively on inclusion issues in children’s environments, Mrs Briceño emphasises the importance of teachers being role models for children while also acting as true caregivers for their pupils. Despite living in times when children do not always feel entirely safe even in their own homes, schools must be a secure place for everyone.

‘​​I think that my goal, my objective, has always been to ensure that our classrooms are safe in Ukraine and in any part of the world,’ – Rossana Briceño pointed out.

The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen is an international annual event initiated by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska in 2021. It is the meeting that brings together First Ladies and Gentlemen to address global challenges.